Policy Officer - various areas: Civic Space, National Human Rights Bodies, Roma Empowerment & Incl.

This role is for a Policy Officer at the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), working on projects carried out in the framework of FRA’s cooperation with the EEA and Norway Grants.

The position is funded under an agreement with FRA and is therefore only for a limited duration (with a maximum total duration of 7 years), without prospect of permanent employment.

Background

The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) provides independent, evidence-based advice to policy-makers, to help ensure full respect for fundamental rights across the EU, for everyone. To this end, the Agency collects and analyses information and data on a range of fundamental rights issues, provides assistance and expertise to EU institutions and to EU Member States’ governments, raises rights awareness, communicates its findings and strengthens cooperation and ties between fundamental rights actors.

The EEA and Norway Grants

FRA cooperates with the EEA and Norway Grants on fundamental rights related programmes and projects in a number of EU Member States which are beneficiaries of the Grants. It also provides strategic advice to the Grants on fundamental rights issues, under a specific cooperation arrangement which the two organisations have concluded. Funding is provided for a limited period for agreed projects.

Project areas

In the context of this new cooperation, funded under the EEA and Norwegian Financial Mechanisms 2021-2028, FRA will implement the following projects:

A. Strengthening the Civic Space

The overall objective of the project is to improve the civic space situation in the 15 beneficiary countries, through fostering an enabling environment and strengthening the resilience of civil society actors. Amongst other activities, the project will set up a ‘civic space information hub’, which will bring together monitoring data, recommendations and resources to protect civil society, in the form of a virtual one-stop shop. It will also help organise national civic space dialogues involving public authorities and civil society in selected countries.

B. Strengthening National Human Rights Bodies

The project will enhance the capacity of National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) and other human rights bodies in the 15 beneficiary countries to effectively carry out their oversight and other mandated roles in areas covered by EU law, such as Artificial Intelligence, border monitoring, fundamental rights conditionality of EU funds, and the implementation of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. Through peer-learning and capacity-building, the project contributes to improving the protection and promotion of fundamental rights across the beneficiary states.

C. Roma Empowerment and Inclusion

The project’s main objective is empowerment of local Roma youth and Roma women in Bulgaria, Czechia and Romania. This will be done through the development, piloting and implementing a system of local level (lowest territorial level) data collection and facilitating partnerships with local authorities to provide evidence on the enjoyment of fundamental rights of the Roma. The project seeks to shift perception of Roma from being merely subjects of surveys to active agents contributing to the design, analysis and communication of evidence on their enjoyment of their fundamental rights.

Duties

The Policy Officer will be assigned to one of the designated EEA/Norway Grants-funded projects and will contribute to the effective delivery of project activities under the EEA and Norway Grants framework, in cooperation with FRA experts and national partners. In particular, they will carry out the following key activities in close collaboration with the appointed Project Coordinator, within the area of their designated project:

General Duties (all Policy Officers)

• Monitor and analyse legal, policy, and social developments relevant to the assigned project area;
• Synthesise complex information from a variety of sources and derive key messages relevant to the assigned project area;
• Plan, implement, and report on project activities, ensuring compliance with grant requirements;
• Engage and maintain effective relations with diverse stakeholders such as EU institutions, national authorities, civil society, and other relevant actors in the assigned project area;
• Organise and participate in meetings, conferences, workshops, and stakeholder dialogues; present project results and draft reports;
• Contribute to project communication and act as a focal point for dissemination of key information on the assigned project, ensuring visibility of the assigned project;
• Contribute to budget management, progress monitoring, and the preparation of financial and activity reports;
• Collaborate with FRA experts and external partners to ensure smooth project execution and knowledge exchange.

Profile-Specific Duties

A. Civic Space

• Lead on the development of a comprehensive online repository that brings together civic space data, policy guidance, and practical resources to support the protection of civil society organisations;
• Facilitate the organisation and moderation of national civic space dialogues through participatory and inclusive methodologies;
• Design and deliver capacity-building initiatives, including training sessions, workshops, and peer-learning activities, aimed at bolstering the resilience, operational capacity, and skills of civil society actors across beneficiary countries;
• Collaborate with relevant national authorities, EU institutions, and civil society representatives to identify emerging challenges and opportunities within the civic space and contribute to the identification and dissemination of best practices in civic space protection.

B. National Human Rights Bodies

• Design and implement capacity-building and peer-learning activities for national human rights institutions and other national oversight bodies;
• Coordinate best practice exchanges in domains where oversight mandates are defined by specific EU legislation. Focus areas are expected to include Artificial Intelligence, migration, and the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights;
• Facilitate training, knowledge-sharing, and development of operational frameworks to support high standards of rights protection in these fields;
• Promote collaboration among national bodies to strengthen the effectiveness of oversight and regulatory practices in accordance with evolving EU requirements.

C. Roma Empowerment and Inclusion

• Develop local initiatives aimed at enabling Roma youth and women to actively participate in the design, analysis, and communication of evidence related to their fundamental rights;
• Oversee structured monitoring activities across various locations in Bulgaria, Czechia, and Romania, facilitate collaboration and dialogue between Roma communities and local authorities, and support the establishment of secure platforms for data validation and reporting;
• Contribute to policy feedback mechanisms and prompt dissemination of evidence to guide project development, and support Roma participation and representation in both local and national policy discussions.

Eligibility requirements

Only candidates who meet all of the following eligibility criteria by the deadline for submission of applications will be marked as eligible. Candidates who do not meet one or more criteria will not be considered further:

General conditions

• Be a national of one of the Member States of the European Union and be entitled to full rights as a citizen;
• Have fulfilled any obligations imposed by the laws concerning military service;
• Meet the character requirements as to suitability for the performance of the duties involved;
• Be physically fit to perform the duties linked to the post.

Education

A level of education which corresponds to completed university studies of at least three years, attested by a diploma.

Language skills

• Have a thorough knowledge (level C1) of English, as this is the working language of FRA, and
• Have a satisfactory knowledge (minimum level B2) of another language of the EU.

Selection criteria

In order to select the best-qualified candidates for the test and interview phase, FRA will assess the following essential and advantageous criteria.

Please note that all essential criteria are mandatory. If a candidate scores zero on any individual essential criterion, their application will not be assessed further.

The following criteria will be considered as essential:

• At least 3 years of work experience relevant to the tasks linked to the “General Duties” and “Profile-specific Duties” mentioned above, in the chosen project area;
• Applied professional knowledge of policy and legal frameworks at local, national or international level in the chosen project area;
• Proven experience in producing policy-relevant outputs (policy papers and/or reports, impact assessments, stakeholder dialogues, etc.) in the chosen project area;
• Proven experience of identifying and engaging with various relevant stakeholders, including civil society (in case of selecting Roma Inclusion project, this must include Roma and Roma civil society organisations at local level), local authorities and/or national human rights institutes;
• Experience in capacity-building and peer-learning activities involving various human rights bodies and organisations at local, national or international level.

The following criteria will be considered as advantageous, with specific criteria considered depending on the selected project area:

For applicants applying to the civic space project

• Proven work experience in a civil society organisation;
• Demonstrated experience in facilitation/moderation of multi-stakeholder dialogues.

For applicants applying to the national human rights bodies project

• Proven work experience in a national human rights body;
• Demonstrated experience in one of the EU policy areas covered by the project, namely: migration/asylum, artificial intelligence and/or the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.

For applicants applying to the Roma Inclusion project

• Experience in data collection and monitoring or evaluation of policies targeted at the Roma community;
• Satisfactory knowledge (minimum level B2) in at least one of the national languages of the countries covered by the project (Czech, Bulgarian or Romanian).

In addition to the essential and advantageous criteria, candidates invited to the interview and test phase will also be assessed behavioural competencies relevant for the position. In particular, the successful candidate will be expected to demonstrate:

• Strong organisational and time management skills;
• Good communication skills in English and an ability to form and maintain productive working relationships with various stakeholders;
• An ability to foster team spirit and motivate colleagues to work together towards common objectives.

Engagement and conditions of employment

A contract as a member of the contract staff will be offered pursuant to Article 3(a) of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Union for up to 3 years. The contract may be renewed up to a maximum total duration of 7 years, subject to the continuation of funding under the agreement between the EEA and Norway Grants and FRA.

In addition to the basic salary, staff members may be entitled to various allowances, in particular a household allowance, expatriation allowance (16% of basic salary + household allowance), dependent child allowance and education allowance. The salary is subject to a Union tax deducted at source and it is exempt of national taxation.

FRA also offers a comprehensive welfare package including pension scheme, medical, accident and occupational disease insurance coverage, unemployment and invalidity allowance and travel insurance.

Under certain circumstances, in particular where staff members are obliged to change their place of residence in order to take up employment, the Agency may also reimburse various expenses incurred on recruitment, notably removal expenses.